2 - Trapped in a Haunted House
Tora and Faolan find themselves trapped in a haunted house. Can they escape or will the house claim more victims?...
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Chapter 2 - Trapped in a Haunted House
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DM: Tora, you find yourself in a bedroom, luckily with no immediate threats visible. You barely have time to think when the suit of armor starts pushing against you as you struggle to shut the door. Can you make a Strength Save?
BTW, you have inspiration again.
Tora: I have advantage on saves against spells btw though it doesn't apply in this case probably
16
DM: No, that's when you get hit by a spell. But that will do, you shut the door tight and manage to lock it, but the armor is slamming on the door.
Tora: Short rest for Faolan to regain his strength
DM: You can have a short rest for 5 minutes. You see that Faolan is still breathing, he wakes up after 5. Are you using a hit die or 2?
Tora: Yeah
DM: I used both hit dice for Faolan, and he regained 13 HP. Let me know how much you regained
There's a wardrobe. I imagine during this time, you slide the wardrobe in front of the door as you might be nervous the armor is going to break the door down.
Tora: Maybe- if I analyze it to not be animated first
DM: haha. No the wardrobe is not.
Tora: Both hit dice used and back to full health
DM: Investigation?
Tora: 4
DM: You're adrenaline pumps in your veins, as you watch the door. Eventually the armor quits hitting against it, realizing it won't break.
Dust and cobwebs are in this room. The first room with dust. Double glass doors reveal a balcony, and a single door leads to a small side room next to the balcony
So, a couple things
You have sorcery points, 2 of them. You can exchange them for 1 level 1 spell slot. Also, you may want your mage armor on.
You also have a free use of hideous laughter, however, that only works on creatures that can be charmed.
So you're trapped in this room, but have two more doors to explore. What do you want to do?
Tora: Now that we're rested I would like to check the small side door first
DM: Did you want to do your mage armor at all?
Tora: Yes please
DM: As you open the door, there is a cold draft that hits you, giving you instant goosebumps and Faolan's cackles rise. You see a small room, inside is a crib, and silently in the crib lies a swaddled baby.
Tora: "Aww..." I gently lift the baby, trying to keep it sleeping, if it is
Tora: 13
DM: Turn order Faolan (22), Tora (13), Specter (12)
Even though the event is surprising, you can act normally this turn, as she called out before she struck.
Faolan is in between you and the specter. He attempts to bite the ghost but doesn't actually touch it. However, the specter appears to react with rage as it does seem to be affected somewhat by physical attacks still. 4 damage.
Tora's turn
Tora: Chaos bolt
12
DM: Now you have your tides of chaos, did you want to roll with adv, or go with that roll?
Tora: Advantage
DM: go ahead
Tora: 25
DM: that will hit, roll damage
poison or force damage?
Tora: 15 force damage
DM: A bolt of chaotic energy flashing at the top of your staff, leaps from your staff and strikes the specter
roll a D20 for me (for her Wild Magic Surge: this is a feature of her subclass, sometimes (5% chance) when she casts a leveled spell, another magical effect can happen.)
Tora: 1
DM: oof... good news is, you get your tides of chaos back, bad news, roll a D100
Tora: 91 (The magical effect from her Wild Surge is on a chart with a bunch of results, result 91 is a conditional effect, if something else specific happens, then it functions... So as of now, she won't know what the effect is.)
Soo.. they're all ghosts?
DM: alright. we'll see what happens... You feel an element of your fey magic fill the air around you. Sometimes when you cast spells, your magic goes wild, you don't know what just happened, but you feel the shift.
Specter's turn
Specter will try to move up and attack you, Faolan attempts to deride the specter using his Defender reaction to impose disadv on the attack roll
And a good thing too, she rolled a crit 20, but a 16 on disadv, which with your mage armor, should still hit.
I need you to make a Con Save
Tora: With advantage? Spell magic?
DM: Unfortunately, it specifically says spells, so no. Just a normal roll (*Note: I was wrong, see note at the end.)
Tora: 5
DM: You lose 4 HP off your Maximum
You feel the very life drained from you as the specter reaches into your chest and seems to crush your heart!
Faolan's turn
22 to hit with 7 damage
The specter seems to be "glitching" as it appears to get provoked into a deeper rage, using its raw emotion to hang onto staying on this plane of existence.
Tora it's your turn.
Tora: Fire bolt
24 to hit
1 damage.
I'm dead
DM: We'll... That does hit, but....
It doesn't seem to have any effect on it....
Faolan uses his Defender reaction to impose disadvantage and the specter's attack against you... 6 to miss. She rolled a dirty 20 and a 6... So lucky....
And in the process, Faolan in defense of his best friend, scores a critical hit for 9 damage. The specter disappears in a flash of smoke, and with a shriek that's fading into the distance, "My baby!..." The room goes silent once more with just the sound of your heart beating rapidly, and Faolan panting....
Upon closer inspection of the crib, you see a mobile above with realistic looking bats flapping around. You look down and see the swaddled baby is actually a small blanket rolled up... The baby's not there....
After a minute that Fey magic that suffuses the air disappears leaving an empty feeling in your heart.
Tora: "Is there even a baby at all?" I say to myself, and to Faolan. Can I roll a history check to think back if there were any clues as to whether the two children outside were really there, or if they were apparitions as well?
DM: Well, you got the fact that you didn't see anyone else out late at night, just these two children, and you got a creepy house with a haunted armor and now a specter... I would say that you didn't notice anything specific to confirm your suspicions, but your brief time with them prior to charging into the house isn't enough to say left or right.
So, you're in this bedroom, there is no baby. The obvious way out is blocked by a dresser as the haunted armor is on the other side waiting for you to come out for all you know. You're hurt and so is Faolan. What do you want to do?
Tora: There's a window right? Can I climb down it.. maybe tie a rope or sheets?
DM: There's a set of glass double doors that lead to a balcony. They seem to be stuck or locked. They won't open for you.
Tora: "I think we could outrun the animated armor." I tell Faolan of my plan
DM: He turns his head slightly and gives you a look of unsurety. Roll me an investigation check.
Tora makes an Investigation check!
1d20 (7) + 1 = 8
Faolan: Perception: Check: 2d20 (adv for keen senses) (4, 20) + 2 Total: 22
DM: Faolan starts sniffing around and goes near a mirror attached to the wall near the door and starts scratching at it with a whine, he's indicating something is behind here.
Tora: "What'd you find there?" I go to take a look and try to take down the mirror
DM: It pulls open and reveals a hidden set of stairs that go upwards. You do recall that the house was actually four stories, not three.
Tora: Not sure up is where I wanna go but at the moment it's the path of least resistance and my plans haven't gone so well so I go for it with Faolan
DM: You make your way up the cobweb choked stairs to an attic landing. The landing is an oblong shape with at least four doors off of it. One far on your left, one immediately on your right, and two down a short hall, one on the left, one on the right at the end of the hall.
Tora: "I look at Faolan, where next?" ... Hoping he has an idea this time
DM: He sniffs around. The smell he's been smelling leads him to the first door on the right as he indicates it.
Tora: "Good job boy!" I cautiously try to open it
DM: It's locked but has a keyhole. There might be a key in the house somewhere or you can attempt to break it open.
Tora: I look at him and say, "You sure about this one?" More questioning myself than him and then without waiting for an answer I try to break it open with my strength- if that fails I look for an object
DM: You have a Ram attack with your horns. Headbutt? Make a ram attack.
Tora: Yea
Tora attacks with a Ram!
To Hit: 1d20 (11) + 1 = 12
Damage: 1d6 (2) - 1 = 1
DM: Well... you bounced off the door. Go ahead and hit it one more time...
Tora: I chuckle, just checking if it was stuck... And then try again hoping to get more power
Tora attacks with a Ram!
To Hit: 1d20 (9) + 1 = 10
Damage: 1d6 (5) - 1 = 4
Faolan: Bite: To Hit: 1d20 (19) + 3
Total: 22
Bite: Damage: 2d4 (3, 1) + 1
Total: 5
Tora: Well I got more power, just gotta pay attention where I aim it
DM: That will bounce off again... Faolan, breaks the door open, breaking the latching mechanism, it swings open to a ghastly scene.
Tora: "Thanks Buddy...." I feel a little embarrassed to say the least
DM: Then you look into the room.
'''This room contains a bricked-up window flanked by two dusty, wood-framed beds sized for children. Closer to the door is a toy chest with windmills painted on its sides and a dollhouse that’s a perfect replica of the dreary edifice in which you stand. These furnishings are draped in cobwebs. Lying in the middle of the floor are two small skeletons wearing tattered but familiar clothing. The smaller of the two cradles a stuffed doll that you also recognize.'''
Tora: Then my jaw drops
DM: Go ahead and roll an investigation check.
Tora: Sad
Tora makes an Investigation check!
1d20 (18) + 1 = 19
DM: Or a perception check
But that will do just nicely.
You stare at the dollhouse, it does indeed resemble the house in which you find yourself in. You see every room, and to your surprise, you see another set of steps that lead downstairs from the attic. It's in the room across the hall.
Tora: "Well,.... I guess that's our way out.. the poor dears..."
Their poor spirits are still haunted by whatever did this
DM: As you turn to leave, a presence enters the room. You turn to see Thorn and Rose in the room playing. Their bodies still lie lifeless, but they are there, or maybe their spirits. "Don't go," Rose says, "please stay and play with us."
Tora: "Oh children, why are you still here? Is someone keeping you here?"
DM: "Our parents locked us in here. They said it was to protect us from the monster in the basement. Now we're here, we know we're dead, but we still stay here and play. Will you play with us?"
Tora: "What is this town called? I've never seen it. I want to help children, but we cannot stay to play. Please understand. The best way we can help is to go."
DM: "But I want you to stay, so STAY!" Roll me a Charisma save, and I'll roll one for Faolan.
Tora makes a Charisma check!
1d20 (1) + 4 = 5
DM: Faolan rolled a two, both of the children's ghosts lunge at you and you feel them enter your body. Rose, the older girl enters you, and Thorn, the small boy, enters Faolan. You now have a flaw:
A character possessed by Rose gains the following flaw: I like being in charge and get angry when other people tell me what to do.
A character possessed by Thorn gains the following flaw: I’m scared of everything, including my own shadow, and weep with despair when things don’t go my way.
Tora: "Let's go!"
I go for the stairs expecting Faolan to follow
DM: Faolan jumps at your bark, and walks behind you with his tail between his legs whining even louder.
You open the other room, this room has not been used for a long time, white sheets cover all the furniture in the room.
Tora: I look for the stairs
DM: They're behind another secret door in the corner of the room. The spiral staircase goes down and is dark. Your torch sputters as a breath of stale air exhales as the door opens....
You found the staircase automatically because you succeeded on your check on the doll house earlier.
Tora: "Let's keep moving and get out..."
DM: Faolan whines, and seems frozen to the spot staring at the stairs... He's too scared to move.
Tora: I try to scoop him up feeling steam arising that he's not listening
"Standing still isn't the way out and it certainly isn't moving."
DM: He's shaking uncontrollably in your arms as you descend the steps. The steps go down, down, and down, and then let out into a dark tunnel. There was no other exit to the stairs, and you found yourself in a dark and dank basement. You have a long tunnel to the left and right. There are three paths off the doorway: one to your left, then right, then the other two on your right across the hall from each other. The hall continues to the right and opens into a large room. The hall to the left continues, and turns left.
You hear a ghostly chanting. It's low, and muffled echoing throughout the hall
Tora: "Is that what you wanted Rose? To go see the monster that did all this?"
DM: Are you trying to scare her out of your body?
Tora: Kinda
DM: Roll an Intimidation check.
Tora makes an Intimidation check!
1d20 (3) + 4 = 7
DM: Yeah, that won't do it. Faolan is too scared to go on. He nervously starts to pull on you as you reach the bottom of the stairs.
Tora: "You gotta be kidding me Thorn, what are you still doing here?"
DM: I guess roll an intimidation against Thorn
Tora makes an Intimidation check!
1d20 (9) + 4 = 13
DM: The ghost steps out of Faolan, and then flies through the ceiling going back upstairs. Faolan relaxes as you lower him to the ground. He does seem nervous and scared, but not more than usual in this creepy house.
Tora: "Alright then Rose, let's lead since you want to so badly. Your brother is all on his own now."
DM: You won't be able to intimidate her twice for the time being.
Tora: I continue down the hall
DM: left or right?
Tora: Left
DM: You turn left, there's an open path to your right that forks at the back and looks like it has two doors at the end of the short hall.
Tora: Alright let's try door 1
DM: The door is a large stone slab, blank, the room is about ten feet deep and five feet wide with nothing in it.
Tora: 2 it is
DM: Door B, the stone slab has the name Walter Durst etched into it. The room is of the same design, but lays empty. Roll a religion check for me.
Tora makes a Religion check!
1d20 (9) + 1 = 10
DM: It almost seems like a crypt of some kind. You do recall a baby, father, and mother in the painting on the first floor. You have met only Thorn and Rose, the two older children, but "Walter" is probably the dad or baby, but either way the crypt is empty.
Tora: "Alright so all the spirits are awake.... Nice"
I go back and try the other hall
DM: Going back to the right of the stairs, you see two more halls opening to the right and left with two doors at the end of each, as you can guess, four more crypts.
to your right or left, which do you want to look at first?
Tora: All empty.... So I bring the bodies to the crypts
Do any of the others have names
Right
DM: The doors are shut tight. They have the names Thorn Durst and Rose Durst.
I'll give it to you. Sometimes when a spirit is haunting, if you lay the body to rest, it puts the spirit to rest.
Well, I guess you already guessed it above anyways.
Tora: Yes just as I supposed
I go back up to the kids' bodies
DM: Right, you bring them down, but the doors are sealed. Do you have a crowbar or anything to help you open them?
Tora: I have an extra dagger
DM: Sure we'll do that. You can roll this time with that dagger a Strength check with advantage.
Tora makes a Strength check!
2d20 (adv) (1, 2) - 1 = 1
DM: Um.... the first door doesn't open for you, try the second door... I'm trying not to laugh at these awesome rolls.
Tora makes a Strength check!
2d20 (adv) (9, 12) - 1 = 11
Tora: Nice, I'm trying not to cry
Faolan: str: Check: 2d20 (adv) (1, 19) + 1
Total: 20
DM: Alright, Faolan somehow makes it budge for you. The door opens for Thorn.
Faolan: str: Check: 2d20 (adv) (15, 4) + 1
Total: 16
DM: And again for Rose. There is a coffin inside each crypt that is closed.
Tora: I do my best to open the coffins. Questioning my own strength at this point
DM: They open easily, they're not stone slabs. They are indeed empty. As you place the bodies in each, you feel Rose leave your body.
You feel a warmth, which is a strange feeling in this chilling basement with the chanting and all. You feel a moment of peace. You now have a gift bestowed on you. For 8 hours you and Faolan have darkvision. You can use this two more times as an action whenever you think you need it again and will stay with you indefinitely until you use all three.
Also, because of how this part is written, you gain the benefit of a long rest and you can level up to level 3.
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... To Be Continued....
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*DM Note: I just reread the Specter monster stats, its attack is considered a melee spell attack, so I made a mistake, she should have had advantage on that save at the beginning. Since it didn't influence the game result, it's a non-issue, but I'll try to be better about it next time. (Sometimes DM's make mistakes.)
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Tora (A Satyr Wild Magic Sorceress) as played by Shauna
Dungeon Mastered by AJ
Playtest 'til it Breaks!
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